Best Film Villains

Best Film Villains

     
·        Agent Smith (The Matrix)
·        Alex DeLarge (Clock Work Orange)
·        Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction)
·        Alonzo Harris  (Training Day)
·        Annie Wilkes (Misery)
·        Anton Ciguhr (No Country For Old Men)
·        Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Gangs of New York)
·        Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction)
·        Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs)
·        Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)
·        Colonel Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)
·        Count Dracula
·        Cruella De Ville
·        Darth Vader
·        Detective Norman Stansfield (The Professional)
·        Dr. Christian Szell  (The Marathon Man)
·        Emperor Commodus (Gladiator)
·        Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
·        Freddy Krueger
·        General Zod (Superman 2)
·        Gordon Gekko, (Wall Street)
·        Gunnery Sgt. Hartman (Full Metal jacket)
·        Hal 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
·        Hannibal Lechter
·        Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
·        Ivan Drago, 'Rocky IV'
·        Jack Torrance (The Shining)
·        Jason Voorhees
·        Jigsaw (Saw)
·        John Doe (Seven)
·        Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
·        Khan Noonien Singh (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
·        Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
·        Lt. Amon Goeth (Schindler's List)
·        Marsellus Wallace (Pulp Fiction)
·        Max Cady (Cape Fear)
·        Michael Myers (Halloween)
·        Mommy Dearest
·        Mr. Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
·        Norman Bates
·        Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
·        Pinhead (Hell Raiser)
·        Roy Batty (Blade Runner)
·        Sheriff Little Bill Daggett ((Unforgiven)
·        Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes (Platoon)
·        The Joker (The Dark Knight)
·        The Predator
·        The Shark (Jaws)
·        The Terminator
·        The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
·        Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
·        Tony Montana (Scarface)
·        Vincenzo Coccotti  (True Romance)
·        Warden Samuel Norton (Shawshank Redemption)
 
 

Furious 7 – Review

Furious 7 – Review

“Furious 7” starring Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Vin Diesel, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, Dwayne Johnson, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Brotherton and Iggy Azaela once again takes us on another global action packed journey of fast cars, women, insane special effects, guns, explosions and unrelenting carnage.  

The plot? Well, Dom’s (Vin Diesel) best friend in Japan……………seriously, me writing the plot of this film going to make any difference if you see it or not?

Pros: Running two hours plus F7 is absolutely a nonstop action thrill ride. It is also entertaining as well, just as long as you leave your mind stuck in neutral and have not one scintilla of knowledge involving basic physics. Also, on a positive note this entire F&F franchise of 7 films may have carved something totally unique in film development in Hollywood; that being something that makes both no sense and yet is entertaining

.

Ultimately, all seven films are one in the same, with no shortage of corny one liners, completely ridiculous and outrageous subplots and some very preposterous transition points i.e. speed racing scenes that have Dom’s crew racing somewhere in United States, only to have the story of them racing somewhere in the Middle East, only again to transition them back to the United States on the streets of Los Angeles.

I saw No. 7 only because the general reviews of this installment have been its highest of the entire group. I also was a bit curious of how they would handle Paul Walker’s character given his tragic passing before the film was completed. I can honestly say they did a pretty good job of keeping his character fully engaged in the entire film with an ending that was respectfully and touching to his passing.

Cons: Can’t really complain about anything in this film as I knew what I was going to see when I paid for my ticket. I guess I was a bit amused at the reaction of some of the viewer’s comments coming out of the theater singing its praises as it they had seen Shakespeare Othello or Richard the III. I get it that this film – these types of films caters to an audience who’s attention span last as long as the width of the wing on a Tsetse fly. So let them eat cake.

Conclusion: F7 made the time go by pretty good. Meaning I must of enjoyed it since I was never bored even if it makes no plausible sense to have as a strategy 6 cars being parachute dropped on to heavily forest meandering road, have the characters be shot at close range, have fist fights on the hood of fast moving cars and have those cars go over multiple cliffs with everyone managing to survive without as much as a scratch or a torn T shirt.

It’s clear they will make another in the form of F8 and why not they make tons of money. But the next time they should take the humor approach to possibly changing its title to “Car Wars – The Return of the Dodge Challengers”.

3 -1/4 Stars 

Danny Collins - Review

Danny Collins - Review

Academy Award winner Al Pacino stars in what is headlined as being “inspired by a true story” as an aging 1970s legendary rocker in the film named “Danny Collins”.

Essentially, “Danny Collins” the character and the film itself is a pretty straight forward story about a singer who in his advanced age is still living fast with lots of women, drugs, booze and in general just plain old hard living which he knows that he should not be doing. The fact is Danny is stuck emotionally in his youth, doing the same things he did decades ago including singing the same old songs that he is tired of sing. In both cases he knows he just can't seem to give any of these things up.

But one day he gets a surprise from his lifelong manager (Christopher Plummer) that he has uncovered a 40 year-old letter written to Danny by famed Beatle John Lennon that was supposed to be delivered to Danny that he never got. Feeling it is a sign, Danny decides to change his life course to embark on a soul searching heartfelt journey of living a better life style and to rediscover his family that he has not been on good terms. With both goals in mind, Danny feels he finally can be a better father and also reinvigorate his career by hopefully writing some new songs for him to sing on his tour.

Pros: The real strength of Danny Collins is the acting across the board with Pacino leading the way as once again reminds me that he is clearly one of the finest actors ever. He and the film itself have a clever funny streak that runs throughout the film with a sense of maturity and sensitivity for the audience to become genuinely attached to Danny as he goes through the paces of interacting with the many characters ranging from his way too young girl friend, his disconnected biological family and some new found friends he meets along the way at a hotel. It’s the performances of this entire cast that makes Danny Collins fun to watch.

Cons: Danny Collins works the cliché and the emotional heart string tugs a little too much with its predictable execution. That doesn’t mean it’ was all that bad to do so, it’s just I didn’t feel that it was written as well as it could have been to make the story evolve along the sentimental way. 

Conclusion: In spite of some screenplay structural missteps, Danny Collins is pleasant enough to watch. Any while it took me a while to think of Al Pacino as a rocker from a casting stand point, by the end of the film I didn’t care and was genuinely pleased I had seen him and the film.

3 -1/4 Stars